Have you purchased a guitar (without trying it first) just for the brand?

[Bridgepin]

I have purchased at lest 10 guitars over the internet and with out being able to play them first. The most important aspect is the return policy, the sellers rating and using a third party that handles the funds and don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions. I have always asked for a 72 hour approval period to review the guitar, if this is not granted I don't continue with the sale. It is important to keep all E-mail transactions from both parties.

[Mike McLenison]

I have bought with lots of them including electrics. The biggest yes for me would be a Martin for my taste(s) in sound and feel.

[edcmat-l1]

Yes, quite a few times.

[rllink]

I played ukulele for years and for some reason along the way I got Taylor on the brain. I just liked the Taylor vibe. So last Christmas I got out my wife's old guitar and started playing it. But I couldn't get Taylor out of my head because Taylor actually got me thinking about playing the guitar again. So just after the first of the year I started looking at them seriously and talking to my guitar playing friends, reading, watching videos and trying to decide which one would work best for me. I finally convinced myself that the mahogany GS Mini was just what I wanted. I'm quite happy with my Taylor but I had not played or even seen a real Taylor before I bought it..

[Methos1979]

Nine years and some 30-odd guitars and I've bought every single one of them having only seen photos and never having played. Only really one dud in the lot of them. Fortunately, I almost always bought used so I was able to sell for what I paid. It was a wonderful way to learn just what I wanted in a guitar as well as own and play wonderful brands I otherwise would never have been able to test out in person.

[Uflatpick]

The only guitar I didn't try before buying is the first one I got as a gift. It was a Stella. I have played every guitar I have purchased since 1961. Some I got by making trades, but I played those too.

[rwmct]

Yes. I bought my Guild F-30 Std. unseen (except for pictures) and unheard.
Though it was not just the brand. I wanted a Guild OM made in the New Hartford factory.

I am very happy with it. It is my best guitar (the other being a Mexican Tele).

[gmruegg]

Of the six guitars listed in my signature, the Martin 00-18V, the 000-18 GE, the D Jr and the 000-42 were and purchased locally and auditioned. The Froggy, and the 00-28 Custom were purchased without me playing them. I did hear sound samples though.

[Kinda Old]

I bought a cheap Washburn from Sweetwater. It's a small folk style guitar. I had 3 to choose from. I choose the one that had a flawless grain pattern. I have several Taylors and 1 Martin standard series. I leave the laminate Washburn out of the case most of the time. It gets played much more than the others. BTW, it doesn't sound as good as the expensive guitars but accessibility seems to win out over tone in my daily life. As far as value goes, it beats the pants off most high priced guitars that I've played. $349.00 plus tax.

[DukeX]

Yes I do, but not just because of the brand.

I know what I am looking for on each guitar purchase.

I research. Then I research some more.

I'm confident in my analysis/research before purchasing.

I buy from vendors that have a fair return policy.

[douglasfan1]

If possible, I definitely would like to try before purchasing any guitars. As experience taught me, even though there's case that guitar may let me down (Or I should say different from your expectation) after the payment, it still got something good for me to enjoy (I won't buy if not).

However, I did have such experience to purchase my Custom Leviora A1 Fan Fret CF guitar without trying it simply because I cannot find one nearby. That's a bit scary since I really don't know what to expect. It's a bit feel like gambling, but it turns really nice when I got it.

[nobo]

Yes, I've just bought a Brazilian/Lutz Bown OMX (arriving shortly), a Mongomery about 3 years ago, and bought a Voyage Air Guitar about a decade ago. I'd not played any examples of their work before buying.

This is quite contrary to my instincts, but sometimes it just pans out that way. The Bown was by far the biggest financial investment, but I've only heard great things about Ralph's guitars, know the sound well, and know that this particular one was owned by two friends whose judgment I trust, with exactly the specs (down to unusual nut width and string spacing) I was after. I'd been wanting a top of the line traditionally inspired guitar - ideally a Bown - for years, so I just had to pounce on it. It should also hold it's value well in the highly unlikely event that I don't get on with it.

I've bought plenty of guitars without playing the particular example first, but having done a lot of research and played a lot of other examples. Lowdens (around 8) and Larrivees (4) in particular., and two McIlroys (though to be fair, one was a custom order, so there's no way of playing that first). I've found Larrivees very consistent; much more variation in the Lowdens, but then that's hardly surprising given the different factories and construction methods over the years, and the variety of models/woods), so it pays to know what you're looking for/buying.

[tadol]

I’ve bought a few very special Santa Cruz guitars which I might never be able to try another example of - I’ve never been disappointed -

[LakewoodM32Fan]

Twice. Once was a great success, the other a great failure.

First one was...my first one (acoustic, anyway). Lakewood M32. Because my musical hero Glen Phillips plays one and I had no idea who/what that brand was. Turns out they're a German company, and only one place on the Western USA at the time (2003) was a dealer. Shoreline Music. At the time he was based in San Diego but I believe he's in Colorado now. I contacted John, he had none in stock but could order one, it would take several months. So I pulled the trigger and spent $1650 I shouldn't have given my salary at the time. It's been with me for 17 years (and there was a cool story to go with it's acquisition but I'll save that for an OGD-Old Guitar Day-I plan to post in the future) and there are so many memories attached to it, they'll bury her with me. But that's not to say she doesn't sound great, she does, and the sitka top has aged fantastically in that time.

The second one was a Martin 000-16GTE (or something like that) advertised with a big discount off of MSRP and "new, factory authorized". In the late 2000s. I bought it from some online place at the time, I can't remember it was the early-ish days of selling instruments online, and it came...kind of shopworn. I thought okay, I got a great sale price on it, let's try it out. Sound was...uninspiring but maybe it was because the strings looked old (should have been a dead giveaway). So I put on new strings and it was better, I decided what the heck, it's my first "name" brand, let's keep it. Tried to register it. Was told it was already registered.

Called company, complained...not loudly, but made it clear I was unhappy, they sent a courier to pick it up the next day, full refund. Never did business with them again (can't even remember who it was).

While there was "no harm no foul" in terms of my pocketbook (well, okay I lost a set of strings to it), what it did was turn me off to the Martin brand for many years...and it wasn't Martin's fault at all! I've gotten over that since, and own a couple now, but it is an object lesson of the harm a dealer can do to a brand in a customer's eyes when they pull shenanigans like that.

Every other guitar I've bought, I've auditioned first, often extensively.

I will admit, there's no Bourgeois dealer near me, and the closest one (130 miles away) has very limited stock. At some point in the future, I may decide to pull the trigger on a Bourgeois without playing it just so I can claim to have tried out all the "big boutiques". I've had great luck with SCGC, Collings and H&D and I want to be able to cross Bourgeois off my list before my time is up.

[Woolbury]

Yes, bought my '46 Gibson LG2 from a guy in New York, thoughtcrimes Id played other similar vintage Gibsons before. I di order one before I goths one I have now, didn't like it and sent it back. I also bought my Waterloo , without ever playing the WL-14 model. I played 2 o3 other Waterloos, was really intrigued and took chance that has worked out great. For sure would rather play the guitar first, but I'd buy a guitar sight unseen if there is a decent return policy.